Philanthropy and Reconciliation

Tadashi Yamamoto, Akira Iriye, Mokoto Iokibe, eds.
2006

The US-Japan relationship has undergone many changes since the end of World War II, but perhaps the most dramatic and least understood transition was the change in perceptions and values that allowed these two former enemies—countries which shared substantially fewer ties of kinship and culture than did the United States and Europe—to become the closest of allies in a remarkably short period of time. This study examines the critical role of civil society, and particularly of American and Japanese philanthropy, in rebuilding the US-Japan relationship in the postwar period.

Foundations and individual philanthropists set out to promote democracy in Japan, reconstruct the foundations of mutual understanding between Japan and the United States, and encourage a continuing dialogue on the future of the relationship. To do this, they provided generous support for strategic institution building, the development of human resources through support for individual study and training, the promotion of American studies in Japan and Japanese studies in the United States, and a broad range of international exchanges and dialogues. 

This groundbreaking study, the result of a three-year research project on the Role of Philanthropy in Postwar US-Japan Relations, analyzes the context and implications of this support, both for understanding the past and for improving the way in which we address post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation in the future.

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Contents

Nonstate Actors in Postwar US-Japan Relations
1. The Role of Philanthropy in Postwar US-Japan Relations, 1945–1975: An Overview
Tadashi Yamamoto
2. The Role of Philanthropy and Civil Society in US Foreign Relations
Akira Iriye
3. US-Japan Intellectual Exchange: The Relationship between Government and Private Foundations
Makoto Iokibe
The Evolution of US Foundation Involvement in Japan
4. The Evolving Role of American Foundations in Japan: An Institutional Perspective
Kimberly Gould Ashizawa
5. American Philanthropy in Postwar Japan: An Analysis of Grants to Japanese Institutions and Individuals
Jun Wada
Case Studies of Philanthropic Support in Pivotal Fields
6. Promoting the Study of the United States in Japan
James Gannon
7. Understanding the “Other”: Foundation Support for Japanese Studies in the United States
Kimberly Gould Ashizawa
8. The Development of Grassroots International Exchange in Japan and the Impact of American Philanthropy
Toshihiro Menju
The Role of Japanese Philanthropy
9. US-Japan Business Networks and Prewar Philanthropy: Implications for Postwar US-Japan Relations
Masato Kimura
10. Japanese Philanthropy: Its Origins and Impact on US-Japan Relations
Hideko Katsumata
Copyright © 2006 Japan Center for International Exchange. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 4-88907-076-1; 406 pages; paper